Wire reinforced plastic compositions

ABSTRACT

THE INVENTION RELATES TO REINFORCED PLASTIC COMPOSITIONS HAVING EMBEDDED THEREIN LENGTHS OF DISCRETE WIRES, SAID WIRES CHARACTERIZED BY HAVING SUCCESSIVE PORTIONS THEREOF OF RECTANGULAR CROSS-SECTIONAL CONFIGURATION JOINED BY PORTIONS OF SUBSTANTIALLY ROUND CONFIGURATION IN CROSSSECTION.

July 13, 19 71 E. o. WEAVER E.TAL 3,592,127

WIRE REINFORCED PLASTIC COMPOSITIONS Filed May 15, 1968 United States Patent 01 3,592,727 WIRE REINFORCED PLASTIC COMPOSITIONS Earl D. Weaver and Walter J. Manson, Niles, Mich., assignors to National-Standard Company, Niles, Mich. Filed May 15, 1968, Ser. No. 729,160 Int. Cl. E04c /00 US. Cl. 161-168 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention relates to reinforced plastic compositrons having embedded therein lengths of discrete wires, said Wires characterized by having successive portions thereof of rectangular cross-sectional configuration joined by portions of substantially round configuration in crosssection.

The present invention is concerned with reinforced plastic compositions. Plastic composition as used in this specification and the appended claims means a composition capable of being molded or modeled and which may thereafter have a substantially permanent configuration imparted to it, such as rubber, plastics, ceramics, cement or concrete, metals and paper.

It is known in the art to embody in plastic compositions, as defined above, lengths of discrete round wires which serve to reinforce and add to the strength of the plastic composition.

The present invention relates to the discovery that by employing lengths of discrete wires having intermittent portions of substantially rectangular configuration in cross section preferably joined by portions of substantially round configuration in cross-section, that the bonding of the plastic composition is unexpectedly markedly increased, and that greater uniformity and dispersion of the wires in the plastic composition is achieved.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a reinforced plastic composition embodying discrete lengths of wire characterized by having intermittent portions thereof of rectangular cross sectional configuration preferably joined by portions of substantially round configuration in cross section.

A further object is to provide a reinforcing component for plastic compositions defined by a wire having intermittent portions thereof of substantially rectangular configuration in cross section preferably joined by portions of substantially round configuration in cross-section.

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for forming round wire into wire having intermittent portions thereof of substantially rectangular cross sectional configuration preferably joined by portions of substantially round configuration in cross section.

An important advantage of the present invention resides in economic manufacture as compared to round wire.

A further important advantage of the reinforcing component of the present invention over the prior known round wire resides in its relative inflexibility to bending in a direction transverse to the section thereof of rectangular configuration compared with a round wire of a diameter equal to the thickness of the section of rectangular configuration.

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The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following detailed description of certain preferred embodiments of the invention.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of an apparatus for forming a reinforcing component of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an end elevational view of the apparatus of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a view of a reinforcing component of the invention viewed at right angles to the position of the wire shown in FIG. 2.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2. of the drawings there is shown an apparatus comprising a pair of rollers 3 and 4 mounted for rotation on roller shafts 5 and 6 extending in fixed parallel relation with respect to each other. The roller 3 may be formed with a smooth peripheral surface, and the roller 4 may be formed with relief means such as a plurality of grooves or notches 7 extending transversely of the outer periphery of roller 4 in the same direction as the axis of rotation of roller 4. The rollers 3 and 4 are mounted as best seen in FIG. 2 to provide for the passage therebetween of wire 8. The wire 8 may be of individual lengths fed between the bite of rollers 3 and 4, or the wire may be drawn from a rotatable supply coil of wire. Either or both of the rollers may be driven by mechanism not shown to provide for drawing and passing the wire therebetween.

The spacing between the outer peripheral surface of the rollers 3 and 4 at the bite therebetween is less than the diameter of the wire 8. The slots 7 are preferably uniformly spaced around the circumference of the roller 4 so that upon passage of the wire 8 between the bite formed by the rollers 3 and 4 the wire at the uninterrupted surfaces of the rollers will be flattened as determined by the clearance between such surfaces of the rollers and that portion of the wire 8 opposite a slot or groove 7 will be conformed to the shape of the slot or groove 7. In instances where the grooves or slots 8 are of a depth greater than the diameter of the wire the round wire 8 will not be deformed at the portion thereof opposite such groove or slot.

Where the grooves or slots 7 are of a depth less than the diameter of the wire the portions of the wire opposite the slots will be deformed into the grooves or slots, but in either instance in which the grooves or slots 7 are of depths greater or equal to the diameter of wire 8 the wire at such portions will be round in cross section or substantially round in cross section. The wire 8 after leaving the bite between the rollers, as indicated at 10, is thus defined by intermittent portions 11 and 12 of substantially rectangular and round cross sectional configurations, respectively. In the formed reinforcing component the intermittent portions 11 of rectangular cross sectional configuration are of relatively greater length than the length of the portions 12 of substantially round crosssection.

In one typical example of the invention a wire 8 measuring 0.010 inch in diameter and of low carbon hard drawn wire was intermittently flattened to .005 x .016 inch. The V-grooves 7 in the example given measured approximately inch wide by .010 inch in depth and with the V-grooves being formed in the roller 4 on inch centers parallel to the axis of the roller 4. In this instance the uninterrupted peripheral surfaces of the rollers 3 and 4 had a clearance of .005 inch providing for a portion of rectangular cross section of the formed wire after passing through the rollers of .005 x .016 inch on the aforementioned inch centers.

Wire produced as above described may then be cut into pieces of appropriate length as, for example, inch and employed as reinforcement components in plastic compositions, such as concrete or rubber, in which it has been found that the intermittent shaping from substantially round to substantially flat provides for uniform distribution and unusually strong bonding characteristics throughout the plastic composition. It has been found, for example, that the incorporation of the reinforcing component of the invention in both the tread and carcass of a pneumatic tire that the strength and wearing characteristics of the tire are remarkably improved.

In the aforedescribed apparatus either of the two rollers 3 and 4 may be driven with the driving of the rollers providing for the feeding of the wire 8 from a supply or individually fed lengths of 'wire and passing of the same between the bite of the two rollers.

In another example of the invention. 015 round wire was rolled to about .010 x .020" with normally round deformations between the flat portions on /1 inch centers. Certain desirable parameters of the fabricated wire may be controlled and for example a ratio of width to a thickness of the flattened length 11 of about 5 to 1 may be achieved. While round wire of various diameters may be employed to provide a reinforcement component for plastic composition reinforcement purposes, wire preferably not in excess of .030 inch would be of the order of the maximum for reinforcing plastic compositions. However, it will be understood that if desired the present apparatus could be employed with larger diameter wire for other purposes. As a practical minimum limit round wire of a diameter of .005" is satisfactory for plastic composition reinforcement purposes.

The frequency of deformation of the wire 8 between the roller 3 and the grooves 7 of the roller 4 has its maximum determined by the dimension of the groove or slot 7. For purposes of forming reinforcing components A inch centers appear to be a practical frequency. The minimum in this regard would be one groove or slot per full circumference of a roller. Thus, with a small roller of the order of one inch in diameter there would be one groove per 1r that is 3.1416 inches. In utilizing the apparatus where cut lengths of wire are fed between the rollers, rather than being drawn from a wire supply, the minimum length would be related to the length of one groove or slot 7 per cut length of wire thus fed between the rollers. Again the maximum would be the same as for a continuous length of wire or 7 inch centers.

With respect to the shape of the grooves or slots 7 the easiest shape to fabricate is a V-groove or a one-half round slot. The width of the slot at the open end of the V-groove is related to frequency of intermittent round and flat portions and the round wire size being fabricated. The depth of the slot is also related to the diameter of the round wire size. The apparatus has been successfully used with a V-slot approximating 1015 thousandths inch deep, and inch wide in processing the foregoing .010 inch and .015 inch diameter round wires.

The aforementioned relief means for the periphery of roller 4 instead of being defined by the grooves or slots 7 may be achieved by providing flat surfaces across the face of the roller 4. In such instance the cross section of the wire at such flats would be determined by the width and depth of the flat with the depth of the flat being a function of width of the flat and the diameter of roller 4.

It will be understood that the flattening rollers need not necessarily serve to draw the wire from a supply for passage therebetween. For example, the wire may be pulled through wire flattening rollers by pinch rollers having a coating of pliable material, such as rubber, or the Wire may be collected in a continuous length on a spool by pulling it through the flattening rollers with a capstant and then spooling the formed reinforcing component.

From the foregoing it will be recognized that the reinforcing component of the present invention may be more economically fabricated than the round wire of the prior art. In this regard, and by way of example, it is much less expensive to flatten a round wire to a thickness of .05" than it is to draw wire to a diameter of .005" The reinforcing component of the invention may be contrast to the foregoing be made in one pass from round wire of a diameter of .010", whereas about six die reductions would be required to form round wire of a diameter of .010" to round wire of a diameter of .005".

T he aforedescribed reinforcing components may be incorporated with plastic compositions as by mixing or otherwise. They may, for example, be mixed with molten or viscous plastic compositions before formation thereof into desired configuration or could, for example, be arranged between a pair of metal sheets which may thereafter be pressed together with the reinforcing components therebetween in forming a laminated structure.

In utilizing the reinforcing components for rubber reinforcement the reinforcing components may be brass coated, for good rubber adhesion as follows:

Copper-73% (wt.) ZincBalance Quantity4 to 8 grams/ kilogram on an .012 round wire.

or for an immersion deposit Copper-98 Tin2 Quantityabout 1 gram/kilogram For plastic adhesion purposes the reinforcing components may be provided with a coating of an organic silicon compound, such as silane, or a coating of phoscoat. In the reinforcement of concrete the reinforcing components may have coatings of phoscoat, silane, oxalate or cadmium.

While there has been above described certain preferred embodiments of the invention, it will be understood that various modifications and rearrangements may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

The invention claimed is:

1. A reinforced plastic composition comprising a body portion of plastic composition, a plurality of discrete wires having intermittent portions of substantially rectangular cross-section embedded in said body portion, and in which said intermittent portions of said wires are joined by portions of substantially round cross-section.

2. The reinforced plastic composition of claim 1 in which said intermediate portions of substantially rectangular cross-section are of relatively greater length than said portions of substantially round cross-section.

3. The reinforced plastic component of claim 1 in which said portions of substantially round cross-section lie in a range of from .005 inch to .030 inch, and in which said intermittent portions of substantially rectangular cross section lie in a ratio of width to thickness of 1.5 to 1 to 5 to l.

4. The reinforced plastic component of claim 3 in which said portions of substantially round cross section are spaced apart in a range of from about inch to 1rD.

5. A reinforcing component comprising wire having intermittent portions of substantially rectangular crosssection joined by portions of substantially round crosssection.

6. The reinforcing component of claim 5 in which said intermediate portions of substantially rectangular crosssection are of relatively greater length than said portions of substantially round cross-section.

6 7. The reinforcing component of claim 6 in which said portions of substantially round cross-section lie in a range OTHER REFERENCES of from .005 inch to .030 inch, and in which said interm u mittent portions of substantial rectangular cross-section Delmonte Metal'Flned Flashes Remhold Pubhsh' lie in a ratio of width to thickness of 1.5 to 1 to 5 to 1. 5 mg e? 1961 TA455 P551345 8. The reinforcing component of claim 7 in which said Handbook of Remforced Flashes Relnhold portions of substantially round cross-section are spaced Publishing Corp., N.Y., 1964, TA455 P5504, p. 180.

apart in a range of from about inch to rrD.

ROBRT F. BURNETT, Primary Examiner References Cited 10 L. M. CARLIN, A 't t E UNITED STATES PATENTS Xamner 1,998,970 4/19 5 S1031! 29--139.5 1 3,214,877 11/1965 Akin 29139.5X

3,226,285 12/1965 Iovenko 161-179X 15 29193;72366;161-179, 181 

